书目

Humphry Clinker (Penguin English Library)

内容简介

ThePenguinEnglishLibraryEditionofHumphryClinkerbyTobiasSmollett'WhatisthesocietyofLondon,thatIshouldbetempted,foritssake,tomortifymysenses,andcompoundwithsuchuncleannessasmysoulabhors?'Smollett'ssavage,boisterouslyfunnylambastingofeighteenth-centuryBritishsocietychartstheunfortunatejourneyofthegout-riddenandirasciblesquireMatthewBrambleacrossBritain,whofindshimselfeverywheresurroundedbydecadents,pimps,con-men,raucousnessanddegeneracy-untilthearrivalofthetrustymanservantHumphryClinkerpromisestoimprovehisfortunes.Populatedwithunforgettablegrotesquesandwrittenwitharelishforearthyhumourandwordplay,andaferociouspessimism,HumphryClinkerisSmollett'smasterpiece.ThePenguinEnglishLibrary-100editionsofthebestfictioninEnglish,fromtheeighteenthcenturyandtheveryfirstnovelstothebeginningoftheFirstWorldWar.

作者简介

TobiasSmollett(1721-71)wastheverymodelofeverythingthatmade18th-centuryLondonlifesoenjoyable.BornandeducatedinScotland,hetrainedtobecomeasurgeonandsettledinJamaica.DuringtheWarofJenkins'EarhewasinvolvedinthecatastrophicBritishnavalassaultonCartagena,aneventheimmortalizedinhisveryfunnyfirstnovelRoderickRandom(1748).Hetriedandfailedtobalanceamedicalcareerandaliteraryone,eventuallysettlinginLondonandturningoutlessgoodnovels,journalismandhistory.YethewasoneoftheextraordinarygrouparoundSterne,GoldsmithandGarrickandwas,withFielding,oneofthemastersofthecomicpicaresquenovelwhichwouldsoinfluenceDickens.In1766hepublishedoneofthegreattravelbooks,TravelsinFranceandItaly,whichsingle-handedlylaunchedthegenreofthesplenetic,xenophobicandunreasonableBritonabroad.HumphryClinker,hismasterpiece,waspublishedjustbeforehisdeath.

丛书

Penguin English Library

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